Islamic finance will grow with rapid pace in the year 2014 and its volume will pass through $2 trillion, with Islamic banking dominating at 78 percent, sukuk at 16 percent, takaful at 1 percent, Islamic funds at 4 percent and Islamic microfinance with 1 percent.

Dubai and London will be in competition in 2014 to be the global hub of Islamic banking and finance, with Kuala Lumpur vying for the spot according to an article in Gulf News.

However, Islamic finance industry can be grown more through synergizing approach and alliance with industry stakeholders rather than setting any competition.

These views were expressed by Muhammad Zubair Mughal, CEO, AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE), in an analysis on Islamic finance industry for 2014.

He said Islamic finance industry growth will go double digit in 2014 which will turn the $1.6 trillion volume in December 2013 to $2 trillion by the end of 2014, including North African countries (Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Senegal and Mauritania, etc). The rising trends of Islamic finance in Europe and UK, plus the rising and substantial share of international sukuk market will contribute to it.

It is anticipated that India and China may step toward the Islamic finance in 2014 where more than 200 million Muslim populations are in search of a compatible financial system with their religious beliefs and thoughts. He said there is no doubt that international financial crisis will not hit the Islamic finance industry, but due to the Arab Spring, Islamic finance industry has faced recession in some countries in MENA, though there are chances of their revival in 2014.

He further said that sukuk will grow rapidly in 2014 and Muslim countries including non-Muslim countries e.g. UK, China, South Africa and Europe, etc will also benefit from it.

Nonetheless, takaful industry is not supposed to have any substantial breakthrough, he noted.

He forecast that 2014 will prove better period for Islamic microfinance industry as different international institutions, including Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have declared it a potential tool for poverty alleviation around the globe.

He also added that Islamic finance industry may face recession in certain countries including Indonesia while in Nigeria and Tunisia it may face some problems on religious and political grounds.

He said that the Islamic finance initiatives in America and Canada, including Latin American countries (Brazil, Argentina and others) have been taken and it is hoped that Islamic funds market will come into existence in these regions by the year 2014.